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How to Dress as Madam Mim

Eat your heart out, Mystique. The magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone has the shapeshifting business down pat. With powers of transfiguration rivalled only by Merlin and Maleficent, Madam Mim is a one-size-fits-all Disney villain.

Going as the Queen of Hearts to a cosplay looks authentic only if you have natural curves or a fat-suit. You may have to appear gaunt to be convincingly Cruella de Vil for Halloween. Madam Mim, on the other hand, does not discriminate. Anyone of any frame can be her. This is the sorceress with the ability to turn herself from this:

To this:

Madam Mim can reverse ageing and shed weight for the fraction of time it takes Ursula to morph into Vanessa. In hindsight, Mother Gothel should have just asked Mim for tips instead of committing all those crimes in pursuit of rejuvenation.

Be beautiful, lovely and fair, have some silvery voice, but never forget the long purple hair! The lavender wig is essential if you intend to channel the scourge of Camelot. If you want to be skinny Madam Mim, go for the longest wig. The older, plumper Mim would opt for a shoulder-length one. Either way, give the wig a little tousle for that truly unhinged look. Also, it's not Madam Mim if you don't give your hair a little tug.

Dress

Madam Mim likes to color-coordinate with her hair. No matter what form she assumes, be it a dragon or chicken, she is often distinguished by her penchant for magentas and purples. The wizened, human Mim wears a Medieval peasant dress with a violet sleeveless tunic over a purple shirt, while the younger Mim likes to flaunt more skin in what looks like a violet spaghetti-strap tank top. Both favor a hot pink knee-length skirt.

But don't just wear panties if you're dressing up as the old Madam Mim. Slip into white bloomers. Whichever version of Mim you're going for, remember to wear pink tights: blush pink for the younger Mim, a deeper shade for the elder one.

Shoes

For some reason, the younger Mim preens around in very anachronistic purple pumps. Then again, this is the same movie that sees Merlin wearing a baseball cap and Chuck Taylors. The older Mim prefers to keep it in the Middle Ages with purple ankle-length boots.

Like any old-fashioned witch, Mim resides solitarily in a cottage deep in the woods, except that she surfs on a broom to get around. If it's not inconvenient, carry a broom as your special Madam Mim ID.

Makeup

YouTube is the next best thing to having Mim's magical transmutation skills. If you're going for the original Madam Mim:

If you're going for the juvenile Mim:

Wear jade-green contact lenses to emulate Mim's crazy eyes.

Stay in the shade

You could get somebody to dress up as Merlin to duel with you, just for show at the costume party. Also, try to stay out of the sun. You hate sunshine, after all.